Light a Candle

Every year Mrs. Troy teaches the children this wonderful song.  It always brings a tear to my eye. 

I hope you enjoy! 

Happy Holidays!

Gingerbread Baby Dress Rehearsal

December 11

We have been busy learning all about different holiday traditions this month. It has been fun listening to all the students share their hand print projects.  They are all hanging up in the hallway outside our classroom.  If you are at Rowe take a few minutes to look at them.  They are great!  Thank you for working with your children to make this project a success!

One of my favorite holiday traditions is making gingerbread houses and watching the students perform the Gingerbread Baby play.

My bookshelf is full of books about gingerbread characters.
Here is a list of books we have read so far:

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.
The Gingerbread Man retold by Jim Aylesworth 
The Gingerbread Man  retold by Karen Schmidt
The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernest
Keep Running Gingerbread Man by Steve Smallman
The Gingerbread Boy by Richard Egielski
Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires

We have been discussing the different characters, settings, endings, and refrains.

Here are some photos of recent activities.  

Family Traditions Project

I am looking forward to seeing the family tradition projects on Tuesday.  Here is the sample I made with my family.  

Our Hopes and Dreams for Kindergarten

Joel hopes to learn to write 58 words.
Lexi hopes to read more chapter books.
Lucas hopes to write 180 words
Natalie C. hopes to read all the books in the classroom.
Dylan hopes to read a lot of words.
Lily hopes to learn the names of everybody at Rowe School.
Eli hopes to write 100 words.
Fiona hopes to read bigger books.
Tommy hopes to read chapter books.
Kristopher hopes to draw 151 pictures.
Declan hopes to learn more reading superpowers.
Natalie G. hopes to read chapter books.
Rory hopes to the learn all the names of the people at our school.
Morgan hopes to read chapter books.
Ian hopes to read chapter books.
Raegan hopes to read bigger books.
Mrs. Lemay hopes to help all the Shooting Shark Stars reach their kindergarten dreams.

November 17

Last week we......

continued to read and write pattern books
wrote a collaborative class book about P.E.
started to write our own pattern books
learned a new jingle to help us remember the steps to writing a pattern book: "Think, think, think.  Sketch, sketch, sketch.  Then write.  Then write."
continued to practice using Owl Eyes and Lips the Fish to help us while reading
met a new superhero, Stretchy Snake, who helps us remember to stretch out the word
played "Guess the Voice" as our greeting
shared our disguised turkeys
reviewed what it looks like and sounds like during Reader's Workshop
completed a variety of activities to practice subitizing, the ability to recognize dot arrangements in different arrangements
discussed hopes and dreams for the rest of kindergarten

Did you know we named our class the Shooting Shark Stars? 

November 10

November is off to a great start.

Last week we.......

wrapped up our Looking Closely writing unit

started reading and writing pattern books

observed and wrote about a tree in autumn

retold the story Big Pumpkin

observed rocks during science

learned that readers use superpowers when they get stuck on a word.  

learned that we use Owl Eyes to look at the pictures for clues and Lips the Fish to look at the first letter in the word

greeted each other with the shoe greeting

started our scarecrow theme

read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything and learned a song to go with it.

used instruments to help retell the story 

played a math game called under the rug

practiced identifying teen numbers while playing "Boo." 

created a scarecrow with pattern blocks

practiced solving and creating number stories

Community Meeting

Our class collaborated with Mrs. Melevsky's class to plan this month's community meeting.  Everybody wore Halloween themed headbands which we used for a Halloween greeting.  Our class recited a poem about a ghost and Mrs. Melevsky's class recited " A Magic Chant." We played a guessing game before singing "Pumpkin Jack."  We had a fun time!!!

Here is a picture of our class at the meeting! 

This Week's Stations

Labeling Stickers at the Writing Station

Collaboration at the Marbleworks Station

Sorting Objects By the Number of Syllables

Reading "Five Little Pumpkins" at the Poetry Station 

Illustrating "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on the Gate" at the Art Station

Making a Book at the Book Station 

Creating Patterns at the Math Station 

October 20

Last week we.......

• started new stations
• practiced teen numbers in a variety of ways
• made paper chains to represent teen numbers
• used a new math material called cuisenaire rods
• were scientists during writer's workshop
• observed, drew, and labeled a pumpkin
• made a poster about what it looks like and sounds like during reader's workshop
• read some books by pictures and some books by words
• picked new books for our book bags
• practiced the sight words see and the
• clapped syllables in our names
• sorted objects by number of syllables
• cut open a pumpkin and recorded our observations
• practiced a lock down drill 
• learned football skills in P.E.
• started a painting project by mixing red and yellow to make orange and blue and yellow to make green 

Fire Safety Week

Pictures From the Fire Station

Open House at the Fire Station on North Road - Today (October 8) from 4-7!

Pictures!

September 29

Today we .......

got new jobs for the week

shared about our weekends

"went shopping" for books during Reader's Workshop and picked out four books to put into our book bags

learned about a tool we will use during math called ten frames

practiced using the ten frames

put another straw into our number of days of school chart and made another bundle  (Can you believe it is the twentieth day of school? )

sang the song Count It  and practiced skip counting

continued writing stories about things that have happened to us

sang a fire safety song

went to extra P.E. and art

practiced upper case B and R during handwriting 

Week of September 15-19

September 18

Today we.......

shared what we want to be when we grow up
sang the "We Miss You" song to Eli
played a rhyming matching game
sang "Did You Ever See?"
made a class book called "Did You Ever See?"
read alphabet books during reader's workshop
explored pattern blocks
learned some new names for shapes; rhombus, hexagon, and trapezoid
listened as Natalie shared the "Me Bag"
got new handwriting notebooks
practiced writing the letters F and E in our handwriting notebooks
stretched out words and labeled pictures during writer's workshop
went to P.E.
did a great job during the fire drill


Tomorrow is Picture Day!
Tomorrow's special is library.  Don't forget your library book!

Some questions you can ask your child to initiate a discussion about the day:
What did you play during P.E?
What letters did you practice today?   How do you make an E?  F? 
Who did you play with at recess?  What did you do?
Where were you during the fire drill?  

Me Bag

Today I introduced the "Me Bag."  Each day one student will get to take this special bag home and put five or six items in which will help the class learn more about him/her.  After a student shares the items we will chant the letters in the child's names and each classmates will draw a picture of the child. 

I shared the "Me Bag" today.  In the bag I had my teddy bear named Buster, my swim cap,  Vermont maple syrup, my medal from my first triathlon, and a picture of my family. 

Here is a picture of the items in my "Me Bag."    I included my teddy bear named Buster, my swim cap,  Vermont maple syrup, my medal from my first triathlon, and a picture of my family.  

September 12

Today we......

had Friday free share
did the "Pop Up" song
drew self portraits and wrote our names for a class book
made a name chart and shared what we noticed about it
practiced choosing our own spot to sit in for Reader' Workshop
practiced counting backwards from different numbers
had our second fire drill
fancied up our writing using crayons and twistables during Writer's Workshop
read Let's Go Froggy,  David Gets in Trouble, and Knuffle Bunny
chose books to take home in library
learned the names of the different pieces we use to make capital letters; little line, big line, little curve, big curve
tapped the alphabet
danced the "Freeze Dance"

  Exploring with the Handwriting Wood Pieces

 

September 10, 2014

Today we......

had our first fire drill
did the "Pop Up" song as our greeting
shared our favorite song
read and colored a book, "Give Me 5"
read I Like Myself and shared something that makes us special
decorated people to look like ourselves and hung them in the hallway
had library enrichment
played a counting game
used white boards and dry erase markers for the first time
thought it was funny that we use socks as dry erase markers
practiced writing the numbers zero and one
learned how to use our mailboxes
enjoyed the beautiful weather

September 9, 2014

Today we.....

went to our first community meeting
sang the "Pop Up" song as our greeting
shared our favorite animal
learned that good readers look at the cover before reading a book and think about what might happen
made a graph called " How Old We Are"
painted birthday cakes to use for a graph about our birthday months
read Froggy Plays Soccer and Not a Box
learned that good writers think, tell, and write
practiced thinking about an idea, telling a partner, and writing it on paper
had music class
discussed being safe, kind, helpful, and polite at school
brainstormed ways to be helpful
had an awesome day

September 4

Today we.......

independently hung up backpacks, put yellow take home folders into the yellow basket, and signed up for lunch
had free share
learned the "Pop Up Song"
pretended it was everybody's birthday including Clifford
sang "Happy Birthday" to everyone
illustrated the song "Happy Birthday to You" and practiced writing our name on it
read Clifford's Birthday Party and We're Going on a Lion Hunt
watched the story Happy Birthday Moon
met Mrs. VanAlstine and had our first library class
found watercolors in the mystery bag
painted with watercolors
practiced put books back in the right spot in the classroom library
learned we are all readers in kindergarten (Some times we read words and sometimes we read pictures)


This has been an awesome first week!  I am so excited for the year ahead.  

September 3, 2014

Today we...

greeted each other with a smile and a wave
shared our favorite kind of ice cream
wrote a story using pictures and/or words (mostly pictures)
read Wemberly Worried, Not a Box, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, We're Going on a Bear Hunt
danced to "Animal Action"
found scissors in the mystery bag
learned how to use the scissors safely
practiced cutting
played a new game called "Four Corners"
read books from the Star Baskets for almost four minutes
explored new math bins
had our first P.E. class with Mr. Lipman

Tomorrow's special is library.

Day 2

Another good day today!

The children are settling in and learning routines.

We.....
drew our self portraits
shared what our favorite food is
had our first Reader's Workshop
pretended we were animals while listening to Animal Action
learned about the "Take a Break" chair - a place where students go as a logical consequence to become calm. 
we learned that going to the "Take a Break" chair does not mean we are bad or that Mrs. Lemay is mad. 
practiced sitting in the "Take a Break" chair
found a glue stick in the mystery bag
made a picture with glue sticks and foam shapes
played outside
had free choice
explored pattern blocks

had an extra recess because we did not have a special today
read Froggy Learns to Swim, and Look Out Kindergarten Hear I Come
checked out Mrs.Lemay's blog to hear her read If You Take a Mouse to School and listen to a message from last year's kindergarten students

Tomorrow is P.E.  Please wear or pack sneakers. 
The students are working hard and are tired.  This is typical for this time of year.  I purposely structure the day so the afternoons are less teacher directed and more hands-on exploration. 

First Day of School!

Today was a GREAT first day of school.

We .....

learned how to unpack our backpacks and put our lunchboxes above our cubbies

shared our favorite colors

read Froggy Goes to School, Miss Bindergarten Goes to Kindergarten,  and If You Take a Mouse to School

started learning each others' names

found a crayon in our mystery bag

played outside

went to music class

had two snack times

ate lunch in the cafeteria

explored math materials

learned how to pack up our back packs

sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

danced to  "Freeze Dance" 

If You Take a Mouse to School read by Mrs. Lemay

A Message from Last Year's Kindergartners